It wasn't all bad.

It wasn't for the Thomas Jefferson Raiders, who fell behind their No. 1-ranked rivals from Federal Way by a 16-3 score with 3:20 to play in the first quarter Thursday to tie the Eagles at 25-25 with 1:21 to go in the second quarter.

And it certainly wasn't for the Federal Way boys basketball players, who fought back furiously for a 30-25 halftime lead and widened it to 50-36 by the end of the third quarter and to a 72-45 victory in the end.

"This game is a game of spurts," said Eagles head coach Jerome Collins. "We know we can put points on the board if anything is there."
In this game Federal Way put things in tune enough to widen their overall season record to 15-1, with the only loss to Jefferson of Portland, Ore.

Thomas Jefferson of Federal Way hoped to be the second team to beat the Eagles, but it didn't work out. It didn't take long for Federal Way to take control -- albeit temporarily.

Cole Dickerson opened the scoring for the Eagles with 7:43 to play in the first quarter and teammate Jerry Duckworth iced a three-point goal at 7:06 to go in the period to make it 5-0.

Justin Lanier of TJ broke the string with a basket at the 7:00 mark, and Dickerson scored two more to make it 7-2 at 6:48. The Raiders' Jeff Brigham then swished in a free throw at 5:58, but Duckworth delivered a three-point bomb for the Eagles at 4:43 that made it 10-3.

The shot sparked a nine-point string. Dickerson scored a basket at 4:11 and Isiah Umipig struck for a three-point score at 3:53, before Dickerson hit a free throw to make it 16-3 at 3:20 to play in the quarter.

"Cole is Cole," said Collins of Dickerson, who totaled 29 points by the time the evening was through. "He's been doing it on both ends of the floor."

A sudden 10-point charge for the Raiders brought the margin down to 16-12 with 1:07 left in the quarter. Eric Radford opened with a putback, then Scott Sanford hit two free throws and Brigham followed up a Spencer Hicks steal with another three-pointer. Hicks hit two points to reach 16-12 but George Williams of the Eagles hit two with 31 seconds to go before the second quarter to make it 18-12.

The second quarter was low-scoring and back-and-forth, leading to back-to-back three-pointers by Brigham that tied it at 25-25.
"They're a good three-point team," said Collins of the Raiders.

That came at the end of a six-point TJ string and at the start of a seven-point Eagle surge. Tyrell Lewis sank two points to ignite the defending Class 4A championship team from Federal Way to a lead it never relinquished. They led, 32-25, by the time Hicks broke it with a tip-in at 6:43 to go in the second quarter.

Federal Way was more the Federal Way that paying patrons expected the rest of the way, building up a 50-36 cushion by the end of the third quarter. They led 72-45 when all was said and done.

Dickerson finished with his game-high 29 points and Duckworth was next with 11. Umipig scored nine, Williams eight, Tyrell Lewis seven and Roosevelt Jones five. Cliff Butler hit two and Rashawn Goosby-Fields one.

Brigham paced TJ with 15 points and Hicks hit 11 with Radford scoring nine. Sanford scored four and Lanier, T.K. Moffit and Danny Cha all hit two.

Federal Way only shot 9-for-23 from the free throw line and the Raiders shot 4-for-7.

Collins was especially impressed by Umipig's overall efforts, which include bringing the ball down the court as well as scoring and playing defense.

"Isiah did an excellent job," Collins said. "I'm awful proud of him."

Federal Way visits Kent-Meridian for Tuesday, Feb. 2 action and goes to Tahoma Friday. TJ finishes Tuesday at home against Kentridge.